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Denver weather: 216 flights called off due to blizzard warning for Front Range, Eastern Plains

People wait to board the bus as an afternoon snowfall overtakes downtown Denver on March 4, 2013, (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Denver International Airport said that 216 flights have been canceled through Saturday because of the blizzard warning issued for several Front Range and eastern plains counties, which predicts strong gusty winds and heavy accumulations of snow.

Announcements of cancellations and closures across the metro area also started Friday night before the snow.

Airports are expected to be in full de-icing mode when the storm arrives, so passengers may sit on the plane a little longer before take-off. DIA has about 500 trained snow-removal workers, and about 250 pieces of snow-removal equipment.

Travelers are urged to check for updated forecasts as the storm evolves, and DIA is advising travelers flying this weekend to check their flight's status with their airline or at flydenver.com.

Along the Front Range and across the eastern plains, the snow shift will start about 5 a.m. Saturday, with snow starting in areas of the eastern plains at 8 a.m.

Northern and northeast Colorado will have about 100 plows working during the storm. Southern and southeast Colorado, including Castle Rock and Monument, will have about 160 plows.

In Denver, rain is expected to change to snow about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, and road temperatures are expected to stay above freezing for most of the storm, so CDOT will start a partial snow shift about midnight Friday, with a full snow shift starting about 5 a.m.